Weight loss support with a spiritual element. I will keep you posted on my journey in the hopes that you will join me in becoming the person God wants you to be. Don't worry about being religious. Come as you are.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Don't Waste Your Growl

I couldn't edit yesterday's post and add this link. Links evidently can only be added in the original and not on the edit.

I have found now that I am waiting on the growl that I don't want to waste it by just grabbing something mindlessly. I want it to be something really good and that I really like. I know if I waste my growl it will be a while before I growl again and I will be disappointed by not taking time to eat something wonderful.

Hunger and appetite are controlled by a complex system of hormone-like substances primarily made by your digestive system. When you haven't eaten for a while, these substances are released and cause a part of your brain called the hypothalamus to "switch on" your desire to eat. A message is then sent to your stomach and intestines. This triggers muscle contractions and the release of acids and other digestive fluids — which causes the rumbling, grumbling sounds you hear — as your body prepares for you to eat.

Waiting for the growl can be difficult. When I start getting that empty, hollow, tight feeling and begin to feel anxious; I ask myself "What am I afraid of?" It seems silly to be upset and panic over this but I do. I calm myself down by having a self-talk. Prayer helps as well.

What you are asking is that He take away your craving--whether it's an obsessive craving or a less obvious, more gentle yet ever-present sense of "gotta have it"--so that the monkey you carry around on your back will get off and stay off forever. Whatever you eat during the day, exercise the power of the prayer mentioned a couple of days ago by saying inwardly to yourself, Dear God, please feed my hunger and restore my right mind. Whether you are eating celery or you are eating cookies, just say the prayer. Whether you think this is powerful or you think it's hogwash, just say the prayer. Whether you have been doing this with every bite all day or have only now remembered to do it, just say the prayer.

Overeating is a battle you wage against yourself; Spirit is the power that saves you from yourself. Don't call on God only in the hour of your need, but rather call on God as a way to cultivate and maintain serenity. Spiritually, you want to lose weight not just to become less flesh, but to become more spirit. Every moment when you eat inappropriately is simply a moment when you are starving for God's love, can't find it where it actually exists, and therefore struggle to find it elsewhere.